


The way you look tonight

by smkkbert



Series: In Another Life [2]
Category: Station 19
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Wedding, vicley - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27997680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smkkbert/pseuds/smkkbert
Summary: Having learned the hard way tthat life can be over too soon, Vic and Lucas decide to not tempt faith or risk anything. After everything they have been through, they know that they don't want to wait. They want to get married as soon as possible. When their day for the secret wedding has come, life decides to not play too easy on them.
Relationships: Victoria Hughes & Lucas Ripley, Victoria Hughes/Lucas Ripley
Series: In Another Life [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031058
Comments: 17
Kudos: 37





	The way you look tonight

Releasing a long breath that allowed some tension to leave her shoulders, Vic eyed up her reflection in the mirror scrutinizingly.

The white dress that reached down to her knees fit her like a second skin, accentuating the curve of her ass in particular. The off-shoulder cut added some more sexiness. She had braided her hair back to both sides and put the ends of her hair into a bun at the back of her head. Unlike when she was wearing a resembling updo for work, this one was a little less strict. She had also added some hair clips to her braids – little white flowers that matched her earrings. Just like her make-up, the hair decoration was rather decent.

“Okay.”

No, Vic corrected herself in her thoughts. She looked better than okay because she wouldn’t feel the tension of the last hours continuing to decrease if she really just looked okay. _Okay_ was an appropriate attribute for the clothes you wore to go to work where you put on your uniform or for when you wanted to go shop groceries. _Okay_ was fine for ordinary days.

Today or rather today’s occasion wasn’t ordinary. That was why she hadn’t aimed for her to look to be okay, and she had succeeded as she realized with one last glance at herself in the mirror. She didn’t look okay. She looked better than that. She even looked better than just good. She looked great.

_Great_ sounded like a lot more appropriate attribute for the way you wanted to look for your wedding. That was where Vic was going to in exactly eight minutes if the driver of the cab, she had ordered was going to be in time which she could only hope for because she wasn’t sure that she could deal with being late. She was going to the courthouse for her wedding, and she planned to be perfectly in time.

A cool shiver ran down the length of her spine when she thought about the last time that one of them wasn’t in time for an important date. A little bit more than a month had passed since she had sat at Lucas’ bedside and held his hand, watching his monitors without blinking because she had been too scared of missing an important change in his oxygen saturation or his heart rate. Still, the memory just made everything inside of her hurt. She had been so close to losing him, so unbelievably close.

After he had recovered from the intoxication, he had finally been able to accept her proposal. Dr. Pierce had given him some more time for his condition to stabilize and for is body to catch some rest before she had done the open-heart surgery to take care of his heart condition. Again, Vic had been sitting at his bedside, just waiting for the good news that everything was going to be okay. Again, she had felt so close to losing him.

If that experience had brought anything good, it had been how sure they both had been that they wanted to get married for real as soon as possible. They didn’t want to hide from the world anymore. They didn’t want to downplay what they had, afraid of the consequences. They didn’t want to waste time when they both already knew how much they loved each other and how much they wanted each other in their lives.

So they had gone to the courthouse to sign the necessary papers and make their appointment which happened to be today.

Unsure if she should squeal from excitement or scream from nervousness, Vic released a slightly strangled sound. She started pacing the room, walking up and down with quick steps. She patted her fingers on top of her chest lightly, taking some more deep breaths.

She was really getting married today. In less than two hours, she was going to be Victoria Hughes, wife of Chief Lucas Ripley. She was getting married to her boss, well, her boss’ boss’ boss actually.

Before she could lose herself in that thought that was exciting and unsettling at the same time, her phone rang. She shot a brief look at the display and smiled.

The name ‘Ripley’ was showing on the display. She had gone back and forth about adding a contact photo. Since a single call at the wrong time could have outed them, she had decided against it. Even the formal photo from the SFD which showed him in his uniform would have been too much. God, she hadn’t even dared to change his contact to his forename yet. It had appeared to risky.

Soon, she could add a photo of him sleeping in their bed and she didn’t have to care how many people saw that. Everyone could know about them then.

With that thought in mind, she took the call.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” Lucas replied, his voice sounding carefree despite the little bit of tension in it, “how are you doing?”

“How am I doing?” Vic perked up her eyebrows and shot another look at the clock on her nightstand. “My cab should be here in like five minutes. I don’t even have time to think about how I am doing.”

There was a pause at the other end of the line, making Vic wonder if maybe that wasn’t what Lucas had been hoping to hear. Although it had been his suggestion to not waste any more time and get married as soon as possible, Lucas had also been the one to appear more doubtful about that decision in the last days. Vic knew that he didn’t doubt his feeling for her or his decision to get married to her though.

“I am still hellbent on getting married to you today, though. I don’t even need time to think about it because I am that sure.”

She could hear Lucas release a breath of relief which ended in a chuckle. He didn’t have to say it for her to know that this had been the very reason why he had called her in the first place. Lucas didn’t doubt her feelings for him or her determination when it came to getting married to him. Unlike him, who had been married twice before, he just worried that she would regret their plan of getting married in secret – not a single soul beside them being present or even just knowing about the wedding today.

“So, you are still not wishing for a fancier wedding?”

“What’s fancier than you and me at the courthouse?” she joked and enjoyed the breathy chuckle he released in response. “Besides, since there won’t be a big party afterwards, we can actually spend out wedding night the way that wedding nights should be spent.”

Lucas hummed. “Care to elaborate on that?”

“Let’s just put it like that,” she said, “another perk of relinquishing a big, fancy wedding is that my dress is actually quite easy to take off which is going to be timesaving for what I have in mind for us tonight.”

“I guess I should take off my suspenders then to save us some more time and-“

“Don’t you dare.”

The bare thought of seeing Lucas in suspenders made her core tingle with excitement. The anticipation of taking them off tonight and making love to him as his wife for the first time made her forget everything else for a moment.

She pushed that thought away until her legs were feeling less wobbly. Smiling, she stepped towards the window and looked down at the street. Just a couple more minutes until her cab should arrive.

“I’m looking forward to tonight,” Lucas said eventually, “and not just tonight. I am looking forward to our life together.”

“So am I,” Vic replied, “I can’t wait for it to start.”

“Not much longer and it will.”

Vic felt her stomach tingle at the thought. Their life together was officially starting today. In a couple of hours, they would come back here as husband and wife.

A long silence spread. Neither of them said a word because neither of them had to. By now, they shared that kind of intimacy where they could just be quiet together without it feeling awkward. It felt good because they didn’t need words to be spoken. They didn’t even need to be next to each other. They just needed to hear each other’s breathing. It was enough.

When a cab pulled up at the edge of the sidewalk, Vic felt her heart jumping into her throat. The nervousness that had been so easy to forget when Lucas had called came back. It was still mixed with excitement, no, it _was_ excitement for most part, but there was nervousness in the mix nonetheless. It was a big step after all.

“My cab’s here.”

“I will see you at the courthouse then.”

Vic nodded and didn’t know why her throat was suddenly feeling tightened and sore. She felt a chuckle rising inside of her throat that she didn’t know where it came from. It was only when an okey-dokey was forming on the tip of her tongue that she understood it.

The last time that they had said goodbye like this, promising each other to meet again soon for a very important occasion, everything had gone to hell. She had sat in that diner, waiting for Lucas without success. She had believed that he hadn’t wanted to show up and that they were over, only to discover that he was in a hospital. She had sat at his bedside for so long, fearing that she would lose him forever. She had waited while he had been in the OR with his chest being opened for surgery.

“Victoria?”

His voice brought her back from the dark memories that had taken hostage of her thoughts just seconds ago. The worried tone as well as the fact that he used her full name let her know that he knew something was going on.

Victoria cleared her throat, doing her best to will back the tears that were threatening to well in her eyes. Her make-up wasn’t made for pre-nuptial crying. It would hopefully survive the tears she would cry when she was saying her vows. She wasn’t even sure about that though.

“Uhm, can you” – Vic had to clear her throat again as it didn’t sound like herself at all – “Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything,” Lucas replied firmly, “whatever you want.”

They both knew that life didn’t work like that. There were promises you couldn’t make because you had no influence on whether or not you could keep them. Lucas had promised her to make it out of the fire at the coffee processing plant although he had known about the very real risk that he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise.

Vic knew that there were promises that they couldn’t always keep, no matter how much they liked to. She wouldn’t mind pretending here though. She just needed him to say it.

“Promise me that you won’t… die or come close to dying on your way there, okay?”

There was a pause, a very long pause actually. Although Vic could hear distantly that the doorbell was ringing, all she focused on was the sound of Lucas’ breathing. It was uneven, telling her that her question unsettled him a little bit.

“I promise,” he said eventually although his tone told Vic that they would have to talk about it some more, just not now, “I promise you.”

“And if you change your mind-“

“I won’t.”

“-you won’t get yourself intoxicated or realize all of a sudden that you have some dangerous heart condition or any other damaged organ that might kill you. I mean a simple text a la _Sorry, not in the mood to get married to you_ would totally be enough and-“

“Vic.”

He was almost whispering her name, but it made Vic stop nonetheless. She pressed her lips together tightly and rolled them over her front teeth, stopping her babble from going on any further.

“I will be there in one piece without a single scratch,” he said firmly, “I promise you.”

Vic nodded to herself, feeling some of her nervousness decreasing. She knew that Lucas didn’t necessarily have an influence on being able to keep it – life didn’t always give you that option – but she didn’t care. She knew that he would do his best to make it to their wedding unharmed. She couldn’t ask for more.

“Good,” she said, releasing a low sigh, “I will see you at the courthouse then.”

“I will wait for you there. If I, for whatever reason, am not there for our wedding, wait for me at the diner, and I will come there as soon as possible, okay? Come what may, nothing will stop me from saying yes to you before I die.”

Although Lucas had basically revealed that he had some kind of backup plan, in case he wouldn’t make it to the courthouse, Vic could feel her breathing deepening. Her lungs finally filled with air again, her ache in her chest decreasing with every new breath.

“I should get going now because the cab driver thinks I’m not home and leaves without me.”

“See you in a bit.”

“Yeah, see you soon.” Vic’s hold on the phone tightened once more as she wasn’t a hundred percent ready to say goodbye yet. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Eggy.”

Eggy. His nickname for her made a desperate needed chuckle fall from her lips and that was the last thing he heard from her before she finally hung up and made her way to the door.

Time to get to her wedding.

* * *

_Promise me that you won’t… die or come close to dying on your way there, okay?_

Trying to ignore the goosebumps that spread all the way down his spine, Lucas pushed that memory of Vic’s desperate pleading away. They would have to talk about it as they had both avoided talking about his near-death experience a bit, but no just wasn’t the time for that. He was seventeen minutes away from the courthouse and thirty-two minutes away from getting married to Vic.

Resting his head against the window, Lucas tightened his hold on his phone.

Just a couple of months ago, he had found the idea of getting married again, especially to a firefighter in his own department, unthinkable. He had always played by the rules when it came to dating someone in the department. He had never even considered dating anyone here, even long before he had become the chief. He had always thought that it was better not to date someone at work as it could endanger lives with the responsibility they held.

He had married twice, women who didn’t have anything to do with the firefighting business, and it hadn’t worked either. He had been young when he had gotten married the first time, and that might have been the actual reason for why it hadn’t worked out. They had been too young, looking at marriage too blinded by what you thought it might look like to see the work you had to put in there. With Eva, his job had been a constant reason for them to fight. She had gotten married to him, knowing that he was a firefighter and loved his job, but somehow she might have overlooked the dangers it had caused him to get involved in weren’t decreasing just because he was getting married. Maybe, just like he had romanticized marriage as a whole when he had gotten married first, she had romanticized the idea of being married to a firefighter.

After the divorce from Eva had been finalized, he had sworn to himself that he wasn’t getting married ever again. He had thought that it wasn’t worth the trouble as it never seemed to work, at least not with the life that he lived. He might have eventually softened his stance a little and decided that he would go for a third marriage if he was a hundred percent sure, but he hadn’t really believed that would ever happen.

And then Vic had come into his life.

Even if he had tried to hide it, Lucas was sure that he wouldn’t have been able to prevent the smile to spread on his lips. Just thinking about Vic made him happy, and he knew that getting married to her today was the right thing to do. No matter what would happen, they could make it. They would get through whatever obstacles life would have in store for them – and Lucas knew there would be a lot.

Right now, on his way to their wedding, he knew that Vic had been scared and, at least to some extent, traumatized by what had happened to him last month. She had seen him running into a fire exactly once, and she wasn’t handling it too well. Still, Lucas didn’t feel worried that it would break them because he knew that with time and some open communication, they would make it through this together.

Together was actually going to be how they would do everything from now on. They would share a life together and-

If asked later, Lucas wouldn’t be able to describe what happened. One second, he had been thinking about the life he was going to have with Vic while the cab had been rolling down the freeway smoothly. They next moment, his head hit against the seat in front of him. The tires screeched before the cab crashed against something. Barely some seconds after it, another jolt went through the car. More tires screeched, and the cracking of glass came from all sides, it seemed.

The chaos of movements and sounds felt like it held on forever before, finally, everything was still. There were no more movements. There were no more noises. Everything was just quiet, almost like the world had stopped spinning.

Blinking a couple of times, Lucas straightened back up in his seat and tried to orientate himself. He looked out of the window to his right, seeing dozens of collided cars. Careful not to move too fast, he turned his head to the left to take a look out of the other window only to be met with the same view.

His hand moved to his right shoulder instinctively, reaching for his radio, but it wasn’t there. He wasn’t in action. He wasn’t here as the Chief of SFD. He was in his civil clothes, not on the job right now.

When he turned his head a little bit more, his mind finally starting to process what had happened and what he had to do, he noticed that the driver’s head was resting on his chin. His eyes were closed. A thin line of blood was running down his temple.

Although his joints didn’t feel quite located, Lucas reached to unbuckle his seatbelt. He moved to the edge of his seat and reached over towards the driver’s neck. He forefinger and middle finger searched for his pulse. Finding it, he released a breath of relief.

He took a look at the door next to him. He could tell just from the way how dented it was that he wouldn’t be able to open it. Careful not to cut himself with the glass on the other side of the rear bench seats, Lucas moved over and tried to open the other door. As it didn’t give in either, he readjusted his position on the rear bench seat again. Holding onto the headrests of the front and back seats, he gave himself some leverage as he kicked both of his feet against the window strongly. It only took a second kick before the glass finally gave in.

Before he could move out, the driver was stirring. He groaned, obviously in pain, when he lifted his chin from the top of his chest. Knowing how a lot of victims panicked when they realized that they had been in an accident and hurt themselves even more in the process, Lucas slid on the seat behind the driver and carefully reached his hands out for him.

“Sir,” he said before putting both of his hands to his cheeks and neck, stabilizing the neck, “you have been in an accident. Can you remember what happened?”

He could feel the driver stiffening and know he would try to get out of Lucas’ hold to turn his head to both sides in panic. It would put some more stress to his neck and head. Given that Lucas just assumed from experience that he had a concussion and his neck and shoulder area was strained, movements like that would only increase his pain and make him panic more. Hence, Lucas tightened his grip on the man’s face and neck a little bit.

“Don’t panic,” he told him firmly, “and stay calm. I know you are confused. I know it is confusion, but you will hurt yourself if you panic now.”

Although the man’s muscles were still tense and Lucas could feel him trying to move against his touch, the driver wasn’t that panicked even more.

“Sir, I am the Chief of the Seattle Fire Department,” he told him and felt the rest of the man’s tension leaving his muscles at the knowledge that he was in good hands here, “and I don’t know what happened yet, but I would like to take a look to see if there is anyone else needing help, okay?”

“O-okay.”

“Okay,” Lucas repeated calmly, “so I will climb out of the window and check. Do you think you can call emergency?”

“I- I’m not sure,” he said, his voice trembling slightly, “I’m not sure where exactly we are and-“

“It’s okay,” Lucas hurried to say, feeling that a new wave of panic was threatening to take hold of the man, “I will do that. I-“

Looking around, Lucas tried to find his phone. He had held it in his hand when the accident had happened. He must have dropped it, so it could be under one of the seats. He didn’t know.

He would have to call Vic, he suddenly remembered and instantly felt guilty that this hadn’t been his first thought. He had to call Vic and tell her that he was alright and that, although there was nothing that he wanted more, he wasn’t sure that he could make it to the courthouse in time. He couldn’t just leave here.

Before he could call her, he had to report this to 9-1-1 though, and he should give some orders to the firefighters and paramedics on duty. Multiple collisions were tough work, and he should make sure that everything was handled best. It was his duty as Fire Chief.

“Can you hand me your phone?”

The driver nodded hesitatingly and reached out his hand for his center console and lifted it back over his shoulder. Lucas took both of his hands from the man’s face slowly, and he rested his head back against the headrest with a long sigh, taking deep breaths. Lucas took the phone from him.

“Thank you,” he said, “I will be back. I promise.”

With that, he finally climbed out of the window and landed on the asphalt. Scattered pieces of glass crunched under his shoes, but those scattered pieces were nothing compared to what he saw when he lifted his gaze. The full extent of the accident was so much worse than what Lucas had been able to see from the inside of the cab.

Around three hundred cars must have collided. Some of them had ended up in the banks at the side of the street. At least one car must have crashed though the median barrier, ending up in the contraflow and causing some more cars to have collided there. Some people were running around, cuts and bruises on their faces, hands and legs. Screams were coming from some cars.

Back when he had still been working for Station 88, he knew that he and Sully would have been incredibly excited at the sight. The rush of being in action when an emergency like this came in would have made so much adrenaline rush through their veins that they wouldn’t have been able to sleep for days. It would have come from Sully mainly, but Lucas would have been infected by it easily.

Today, things were different. The longer you worked in this job, the more experience you gained with people suffering and people dying. You still felt the rush of knowing that there were hundreds or even thousands of people that needed your help and knowing that you had to think outside of the box. You had to be creative because the usual procedure wouldn’t help when you didn’t have enough paramedics, not enough ambulances, not enough hospital beds, not enough anything.

He dialed 9-1-1 and lifted the phone to his ear.

“You called 9-1-1. What’s your emergency?”

* * *

„How much longer?“

„Less than a minute, Sir.”

Lucas nodded, applying even more pressure on the injury of the patient. The teenager hadn’t been buckled up which had caused her to be tossed out of the car through the windshield. A scattered piece of glass that had almost the size of a palm of a hand was sticking out of her body. Her renal artery might have been cut, causing the terrible bleeding he was trying so hard to compress.

Looking down on his hands that were full of blood, his eyes fell on the watch he had inherited from his father. He squeezed his eyes closed, shaking his head. He had missed his own wedding and, even worse, he hadn’t even had time to call or text Vic.

After he had reported the accident, he had called dispatch to instruct the incoming rescue services. When he had hung up, he had already been dialing Vic’s number. Before he could have made the call, the driver had honked several times, calling for Lucas’ attention to make him notice a man who was holding a unconscious woman in his arms. Lucas had pushed the phone into the pocket of his pants and started helping.

From that moment since now, he hadn’t had time to look at his watch or catch his breath or anything really. He had helped where his help had been needed, whether that was with patients or coordinating the rescue services. He had been in full Chief-mode, and he hadn’t really allowed himself to think about what he was missing out on or how Vic was feeling. Deep inside, he had just decided to hope that they would get this fixed like they had before.

As soon as the ambulance came to a stop, the backdoors opened. A team of three doctors, one of them being Dr. Hunt that Lucas remembered from the last time he had been brought into the hospital. The doctor looked at him with perked up eyebrows.

“Chief,” he said, “didn’t think I would see you here.”

“I happened to be on-site,” Lucas simply replied, “and felt my help might have been needed.”

“So what do we have?”

“White female. Teenager. She was tossed through the windshield and got a big piece of glass in her abdomen. She’s losing a lot of blood. Her renal artery might have been cut. Vital signs are okay, but the blood pressure has constantly decreased on our way here.”

“Good, we take over from here.”

Hunt ordered his interns to take her to a free trauma room and followed them when they got the teenager inside. At the doors, he turned back around to Lucas once more though.

“Were you in the accident?”

“Yeah, but I’m fine,” he assured, “I hit my head, but-“

“Schmitt,” Hunt called into the emergency room, “check the Chief through.”

Without another word, he disappeared into the hospital and followed his patient into one of the trauma rooms. Dr. Schmitt, another doctor that Lucas remembered very well because he hadn’t only found him unconscious on the sidewalk, but he had also helped him picking the flowers he had bought for Vic and actually send them to her later, stepped outside. He smiled a little exhaustedly and nodded for him to follow him.

“Come on,” he said, “just a quick check-up, so we can be sure that you really are okay.”

Lucas nodded and followed Dr. Schmitt inside, already reaching for the phone in the pocket of his pants. He really needed to call Vic now.

As he crossed the doorstep and entered the emergency room, he stilled for a moment. When big accidents like this happened, he was usually on-site for most times and headed back to the headquarters after. Only when his people had gotten hurt and the necessary paperwork allowed it, did he go to the hospital. It had been a while since that had happened the last time because, luckily, big incidents like this weren’t part of the daily routine in the job.

The chaos that he was met with was similar to the one on-site. Doctors and nurses were running around busy. Injured people were sitting on the treatment couches, on some chairs that were usually for family and friends to wait, some even on the floor. A lot of them hadn’t been further treated yet. They still looked the same they had when they had been taken to the hospital. Along the walls of the hallways, several beds and gurneys had been placed, the dead bodies were holding covered with a sheet.

“We are short-handed,” Dr. Schmitt explained with low voice, “but we have already paged everyone available.”

“I will order our paramedics to set up some treatment facilities outside as soon as the last patient had been taken in,” Lucas explained, “so they can take care of the easier cases.”

“Dr. Bailey will certainly appreciate that.”

Dr. Schmitt gestured for Lucas to sit down on one of the empty chairs, but Lucas wanted to reject. There were people there that certainly needed a lot more help than he did. He was feeling fine. He barely had a scratch.

“This will just take a minute.”

Lucas knew that fighting with Dr. Schmitt would only take away more time from the people who needed the doctor’s help. He couldn’t have that, so he sat down without complaint and let himself be checked through. Dr. Schmitt checked his pupillary light reflex and made him follow his finger with his eyes. After sounding him and checking his blood pressure, he indeed nodded his head.

“Okay, everything looks fine. If you grow any pain or show any other symptoms-“

“I will check myself in. Don’t worry. I won’t take symptoms lightly once more.”

The corners of Dr. Schmitt’s lips twitched into a smile. Noting something on his tablet, he eyed Lucas over the edge of it. He probably didn’t miss that he was wearing a tuxedo as an outfit like that was kind of hard to miss.

“Looks like you have been on your way to an important occasion, hm?”

Lucas bit down on his tongue. It probably wouldn’t be against their agreement to tell Dr. Schmitt since he had helped them before. Still, Lucas decided to just not answer with words. He just smiled.

“Can I go?”

Dr. Schmitt’s smile grew even wider, telling Lucas that he probably knew that there had been some important occasion that he had missed.

“Yeah, you can go. Bye, Chief Ripley.”

“Thanks, Dr. Schmitt.”

As soon as Dr. Schmitt had left, Lucas got up and hurried out of the emergency room. He couldn’t do much more here, so he would do what he could do and finally take care of his own problems then. He had focused on being the Chief for long enough now.

He called dispatch and asked them to call in even more people, so they could support the hospitals by treating the less serious cases. He also called the Battalion Chief in charge to let her know about his plans and to ask about a brief report about the current situation. Since he was sure that everything was handled well, he finally sat down on that uncomfortable looking bench next to the doors and dialed Vic’s number once more.

“Please take the call,” he whispered before he pressed the green button to have the call being made. “Please, please, please.”

He watched another ambulance coming in. The doctors let themselves be informed about the patient’s condition before they started talking about which tests were necessary and what to do first. The paramedics just left, probably getting another patient. At the same time, a new ambulance already showed up.

_I can’t take your call, so do your thing._

“I can’t believe this is happening again,” he said with a long sigh, “but I have a good explanation _again_ and… I’m so sorry, Victoria.”

With another long sigh, Lucas ended the call and thought about what to do. He could call her again and again and again, but he doubted that that would help.

After only a moment, he dialed a different number instead. This time, his call was almost taken instantly.

“Astro Corner Coffee Shop. Here’s Cameron. Who am I speaking with?”

The right person right away, Lucas thought with a sigh of relief. At least this once luck was on his side it seemed.

“Hi, Cam, it’s Lucas. Eggy’s hubby,” he added quickly and felt something warm around his heart as he was Vic’s husband already in at least this one way, “uhm, is she around?”

“No, she’s not here. Sorry.”

Lucas sighed. I would have been too easy, he guessed.

“Has she been there before?”

“No, I haven’t seen her here today at all.” Cameron was quiet for a moment. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” Lucas replied quickly, “everything’s fine. I’m just… I just don’t know where she is, and I need to talk to her.”

“I can call you if she shows up here.”

“That would be great, thanks.”

“Okay, I will just note down the number that you called me from and- okay, done.”

“Great,” Lucas said again, “thanks, Cameron.”

“Sure and I am sure that you will find her soon and you can… work things out.”

“Yeah, I hope so.”

Lucas hung up and rested his elbows on his knees for a moment, letting his head sink. He could go to the diner right now and wait for Vic there. They had agreed on meeting there in case something was getting in between, but he wasn’t sure that she would ever get there if she hadn’t arrived there yet.

Where else could she be?

Pressing his lips together, he dialed her number once more. If he had hoped that she would take the call this time, he was disappointed again.

_I can’t take your call, so do your thing._

“Vic, hey,” he said softly, “I know this looks bad, but there have been multiple collisions, and I got in the middle of it. There wouldn’t have been a chance for me to get to you, and there were so many people that needed help. I- I know it’s not a good excuse. You should have been my priority nonetheless, but-“

Lucas stopped abruptly when the doors of the ambulance he had watched pulling up in front of the doors towards the emergency room and a familiar voice was to be heard.

“Patient is a white male, forty-six years old. His name is Peter Ackler. He has been in the multiple collision on the freeway and helped getting trapped people out of their cars. Then he suddenly lost consciousness and his heart stopped beating. Chest compression has been done for the last eighteen minutes, and he was given epi, but there is still no reaction.”

“Further injuries?”

“Nothing visible. He didn’t mention any symptoms in the time that we have spent together, either.”

Blood was rushing in Lucas’ ears, making it hard to hear the rest. Unable to move or say anything, he stayed where he was and watched Vic continuing with the heart compressions, standing on the side of the gurney when it was rolled into the ER.

It took him several seconds until he finally snapped back into action. He quickly jumped up and followed them inside. He barely got to see the team of doctors disappear into one of the examination rooms with their patient and Vic before the door closed behind them. He considered following them inside, but decided to wait outside instead.

Vic was here, he told himself again and again, she was here. Everything was going to be okay.

When the door opened soon after and Vic stepped out, Lucas took her in. She had a bleeding injury at the side of her forehead. Her left arm was holding onto her right arm, holding it in front of her stomach, so Lucas could see the dark bruises forming around her right wrist. Her white dress that snuggled around her body tightly, was covered with dirt and blood. The fabric had been ripped at several spots. Some strands of her hair that had been braided before had fallen from those braids and into her face now.

Lucas already took a first step in her direction. He didn’t want anything more than to fling his arms around her and kiss her senseless, but he was very well aware of the firefighters and paramedics around. Neither of them had really noticed him yet, or at least they hadn’t let that show, but Lucas knew that they couldn’t be too careful. They were too close to the finishing line to be caught now.

Forming his hands to tight fists in a way to bring some relief to the burst of energy that made his feet itch to move. Instead of walking towards her, he just cleared his throat to call for her attention. Immediately Vic lifted her gaze. Her eyes met his, and Lucas could see the same fight of needing to fling herself at him and knowing the dangers of doing so playing in her eyes.

Vic sucked in a deep breath and looked away quickly. She lifted her left hand to the back of her neck, massaging it. She shot him a brief glance before she started walking away, leaving Lucas a little dumbfounded at first. When she stopped in front of one of the doors and shot him a meaningful glance, he nodded his head though.

Counting to count to ten in his head, Lucas stayed where he was. If someone had seen Vic disappear in that room, he shouldn’t follow too quickly. The wait, although it was only ten seconds long, felt endless though, and he had trouble not to run after her once he had reached the ten. Instead, he followed her with slow steps, looking right and left to make sure nobody was watching and quickly stepped into the room, the door closing behind him.

The door had just fallen shut when Vic put her hands to both sides of his head and pulled his face down to hers. Her lips covered his, stealing a passionate kiss from him. Lucas wrapped both of his arms around her body in response, holding her as close as possible.

They were both breathless when they broke their kiss. Lucas kept his arms wrapped around Vic tightly, so she had to angle her head back to be able to look at him. The blood that had come from her head injury was dried, but looking at it so closely, he was sure that she had taken a concussion from it. He let his right hand move up her back and neck towards the back of her head, holding it for her.

“You are hurt.”

“It’s nothing,” Vic replied, shaking her head, “I was just so worried that you would wait for me and think that I got cold feet or-“

“I was worried that you were waiting for me,” Lucas interrupted her, “again.”

“I guess it was a good thing that neither of us could make it to the wedding then.”

Lucas chuckled breathily and rested his forehead against Vic’s, careful to avoid her injury as he did so. He couldn’t say that it was a good thing that they hadn’t made it to their wedding, but he knew what Vic meant.

“Have you been caught in that collision at the freeway, too?”

“Yes,” Lucas replied, leaning his head back to look at Vic, “and I couldn’t find my phone, so I couldn’t call you and-“

“Mine’s broken,” Vic replied, reaching into the small purse and lifting it for him to see that the display was completely broken, “so you couldn’t have reached me even if you had tried.”

“Why were you in that collision anyway? You shouldn’t have been on the freeway at all.”

“The traffic on the shorter route was hell because of some roadworks. The driver thought that it was a good idea to take the detour over the freeway instead, so I was in there too. Probably just at the other end of it.”

Lucas didn’t know what to say to that, so he just leaned forward and brushed a kiss against Vic’s temple. Chaos seemed to follow them wherever they went, but at least they always found their way back to each other.

When Vic touched his cheek, Lucas was pulled out of his thoughts. He noticed that, despite the exhaustion in her eyes, there was also the glint of a smile. He perked up his eyebrows slightly, wordlessly asking what she was thinking about. He had always been nosy what was going on in her head.

“You kept your promise,” she said, “not a single scratch.”

“I didn’t make it to the courthouse though.”

“You made it to me,” Vic replied, “and that might be even more important.”

Releasing a low sigh, Lucas put his hands to Vic’s wrist and snuggled his hand into her touch. He loved the positive perspective she had on life, and he hoped that she would keep it forever. Maybe it would even infect him.

Taking a step back, he took hold of her shoulders and guided her a couple of steps backwards until she was sitting down on a wobbly chair. Vic looked at him in confusion.

“We’re in a supply storage room,” Lucas explained to her, “so I will use the supplies to take care of you.”

“You don’t have to. Like I said, it’s nothing and-“

Lucas just shot her a meaningful glance, and Vic lifted her hands in defeat. Resting her head back against the wall with a sigh, she dropped her hands into her lap. A glimpse of pain showed on her face, and she placed her right hand around her left forearm carefully.

“What happened to your wrist?” he asked, looking around for disinfection, lint and plasters. “Doesn’t look good.”

“It got jammed, but it’s not that bad,” Vic replied, “nothing that wouldn’t heal with a little time.”

“And you did heart compressions with that?”

“Sure. Poor guy just collapsed right in front of me. I didn’t have much of a choice. And you know me, I-“

She stopped when the door opened. They both looked at Dr. Pierce, standing in the open door and looking at them with perked up eyebrows. Lucas was sure that in the doctor’s eyes, he and Vic looked like two kids that had just been caught with their hands in a cookie jar.

“What are you two doing here?”

“Vic’s injured,” Lucas replied quickly, “can you check her through?”

“It’s not that bad,” Vic said, shaking her head, “and I’m sure that you have more urgent patients.”

“I do,” Dr. Pierce replied, but she stepped inside and closed the door behind her, “but if it’s really not that bad, we will get to take care of this very quickly.”

Just like Dr. Schmitt had checked up Lucas before, Dr. Pierce checked through Vic now. In addition to the things that Dr. Schmitt had done, Dr. Pierce took a closer look at Vic’s head injury and at her wrist.

“I’d like to agree and say that it’s not too bad. The head injury isn’t deep, so it won’t need any stitches, but I am sure that you have a concussion. As for your wrist, it might be more than just jammed, but, honestly, the list for patients in need of an X-ray is long and most of them have much more serious problems. Usually, I’d also advise you to stay here overnight, but we are short on beds as it is.”

“So I can go home,” Vic said.

Dr. Pierce shot a look back over her shoulder at Lucas. “You are staying with her, right?”

“Not going to take my eyes off her.”

“In that case, I’d say you are in good hands. If anything about her condition changes-“

“I will bring her right back,” Lucas promised, crossing his arms in front of his chest, “not taking any risks there.”

“Good.” Dr. Pierce stepped to one of the shelves and grabbed some supplies. “I have to go, but I am sure that you can clean up her head injury and bandage her wrist.”

“Will do.”

“Vic, you should get some rest at home and call in sick for the next week.”

“As her boss, I accept the sick call without further notice.”

Vic shot him a glance that made him grin at her unashamedly. Although he wasn’t really her boss when they were together in private, he would make sure that she was going to take her doctor’s advice on this. If rest was what she needed, rest was what she was going to get.

“Fancy outfits by the way,” Dr. Pierce added, the doorhandle already in her hand, “so can I congratulate?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Lucas replied with a sigh.

“That freeway collision got in the way,” Vic added, “when we were on our way to the courthouse.”

Dr. Pierce scrunched up her nose. “You two do have terrible timing.”

With that, she left the room and closed the door behind herself, leaving them alone again. Lucas tuned his head to look at Vic, who was smiling at him with sadness in her eyes for a moment before lowered her gaze. He crossed the distance towards her, put the supplies he had already grabbed to take care of her on a free spot on the shelf next to her and put his hands to both sides of her face. He angled her head back carefully, making her look at him.

“We will get married,” he whispered, “not today, but soon. I promise you.”

“I know,” Vic said with a sight, “I was just really looking forward to getting married today.”

Lucas nodded his head, brushing his thumb against her cheekbone. “So was I.”

I leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss against her lips, sealing his promise to her. They wouldn’t get married today, but they would get married soon. They had been through two crises now, so his determination to get married to her had only increased. He wouldn’t let them waste much more time spent in secret.

When their lips parted, Vic was smiling at him softly. There was still a glimpse of that sadness left, but he knew that he could kiss that away once they were back home too. He’d do his best to make it disappear.

He took care of her injuries in silence as he could see how exhausted Vic was, and he was kind of exhausted too. He just wanted to go home, crawl under a blanket with Vic and hold her while he was whispering in her ear how much he loved her.

“Thank you,” she said quietly when he lifted her wrapped hand to his lips and kissed the tip of each finger, “for taking care of me.”

“Well, it might not be official yet,” Lucas said, pushing a strand of her hair back behind her ear, but it just jumped back into her face, making him smile, “but I made it my duty to take care of you. For better or worse. In sickness and in health.”

Chuckling lowly, Vic lifted her hand and played with one button of his shirt. “Spare your breath for the wedding.”

“I can say it now, repeat it a million times and still say it at our wedding.”

“A million times?” Vic perked up her eyebrow. “How long exactly are you planning to wait for this wedding to happen?”

“Not long enough to say it a million times,” Lucas replied with a chuckle and pecked her lips. “Now come on. Let’s get you home.”

“We should get out separately,” Vic told him when she got up and smoothed her dress a little, “so let me go out first. I will check on the patient I brought in and meet you at the Starbucks around the corner. There are always cabs there, so that makes sense.”

Lucas nodded. “Okay.”

Vic squeezed his hand when she walked past him. With a last glance in his direction, she left him. As soon as the door was closed behind her, Lucas sat down on the chair she had been sitting on before and released a long sigh.

She was so disappointed. The circumstances of their proposal had been so messy, and their plans for this wedding hadn’t been ideal either. It was her first wedding, and she would have celebrated it alone with him at the courthouse instead of having a big party with all of their friends around. He had suggested it because he hadn’t needed a third big wedding, and he hadn’t wanted to go through all the questions from Human Resources before they had tied the knot. Since the moment she had agreed to it, he had wondered if it really had been what she wanted though.

At least it would have been a normal wedding without all the drama that had accompanied them today. Again.

Groaning, Lucas rubbed his hands over his face. It seemed like his job was starting to make problems even before the wedding now although he also knew that his job would never break him and Vic apart. They were too similar for that to happen.

With a glance at his watch, Lucas got up and approached the door. He had already reached out his hand for the doorhandle when the door was opened. Vic stepped inside, pushing him a step back, so she could close the door behind her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, confused about he actions. “I thought-“

“How spontaneous are you?” she asked instead.

Lucas frowned for a moment, but he could see in Vic’s eyes that she had changed their plans. Whatever that meant, he knew he was in.

“Very spontaneous.”

“Good.” A wide smile spread on Vic’s lips. “New plan.”

* * *

“I can’t believe you managed to organize this.” Lucas leaned his head closer to Vic and squeezed her hand. “How did you even meet this guy today?”

“I was trying to get an elderly woman out of a car, and he helped me with that.” Vic smiled, leaning against his arm a little as they made their way to the back of the hospital garden. “We continued to work together for a while, and he told me that he had only come to Seattle to officiate his best friend’s wedding, but it turned out that the bride was sleeping with the groom’s brother, so the wedding didn’t take place. He wanted to visit some old friends downtown since the reception and everything was canceled. His license is still valid for today though.”

“And you charmed him into officiating the marriage of two strangers?”

“I didn’t really have to charm him,” Vic replied, “because he told me that he had actually been quite excited to officiate a wedding. We are basically fulfilling a dream for him.”

“We are such good people.”

Vic chuckled. “To be fair, I just wanted to get married to you before the next crisis happens. Everything else is just a bonus.”

Lucas smiled at that, lifted Vic’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Instead of dropping their joint hands back to the height of their hips, he held her hand to his chest instead.

They continued the rest of the way towards the back of the hospital garden in silence. They were still several feet away from the small pond when Lucas already saw Rodney, a guy in his mid-thirties standing there with his hands held in front of his stomach, smiling at them. Two other people that Vic had persuaded into being their witnesses as those were necessary in Washington State were waiting with them. Lucas squeezed Vic’s hand once more, excited that despite all the obstacles thrown at them today, they didn’t let that stop them from getting married.

When Vic had come back to that supply storage room, Lucas had been taken aback by her sudden change of plan at first. The moment he had realized that there was a chance for him to end this day as her husband, he had taken it though. He didn’t care whether they were getting married at a romantic venue, in the courthouse or even in the hospital garden as long as they did get married.

They had taken full five minutes to freshen themselves up in the hospital bathrooms, not that there was much to be done. Thanks to the blood, dust and dirt, they still looked disheveled, but Lucas didn’t care how they looked.

He really didn’t care about anything but getting married to Vic right now.

“Bride and groom have arrived,” he said, clapping his hands and looking from one to the other and back again, “still sure you want to do this?”

“No doubt,” Lucas replied at the same time Vic said, “Totally.”

“Good.” Rodney chuckled. “I wouldn’t have wanted another wedding I officiate come to an early end before I even get to do anything. I already got your marriage license and you told me that you just want to get it done which is not exactly my aspiration at this, but I get where you are coming from.”

He winked at them. When he took in a deep breath afterwards, his shoulders rising slightly, his face became serious though. He was obviously getting into his role as their officiant now.

“Victoria,” he said softly, looking at Vic, and turned his gaze towards him then, “Lucas, we have only just met each other, and the circumstances that have brought us together weren’t particularly happy. It’s certainly not how either of you would have imagined this day to go. Still, you have chosen that your love is stronger than this chaos. You have chosen to make your love the priority and that tells me everything I need to know to be sure that your marriage will be a success.”

Lucas turned his head to look at Vic. Feeling his gaze on her skin, she looked back at him. Their eyes locked, and a warm smile spread on her lips. Lucas lifted their joint fingers to his heart once more.

Just a few more minutes, he thought to himself, and this incredibly woman was officially going to be his wife. His heart was jumping up and down in his chest in response to this.

“Although just from the way you look at each other and hold onto each other, I am sure that I could say some more things about how you two will be able to overcome whatever obstacles you will have to face in your marriage,” Rodney said before he made a brief pause that caused Lucas and Vic to finally look at him again, “but I can see that there is nothing you two want to do more than finally be married. Hence, I will spare my breath and let you say some things about your love and your marriage. You prepared your own vows.”

“Kind of,” Vic replied, shrugging her shoulders, “though I’d say that _prepare_ is a strong word for deciding to spontaneously say something.”

Rodney smiled and nodded his head as if he knew exactly what Vic meant. Looking at Lucas, he nodded his head slightly then to allow him to speak.

Lucas took in a deep breath, facing Vic. Although he hadn’t planned a single word of what he wanted to say, he had never been surer that he would find the right words because he knew exactly what he was feeling for her.

“Vic,” he said, his voice sounding husky even in that one syllable already, “Eggy-“

A low chuckle escaped Vic’s lips and she lowered her head for a moment, probably reveling in that memory as much as he did every time that he used that pet name for her. They had been married long before this moment, and they had been marriage goals ever since. It didn’t matter that it hadn’t been official then or wasn’t even official yet. Whenever they were at their diner, they were Eggy and Hubby.

The thought filled him with warmth and made him even more excited about their future together which proved to him that he already knew the perfect words to say.

“When we first met, I never thought that this would happen. You have come into my life like a whirlwind. For some time, I have felt like you have turned everything upside down and created a chaos in my life that I didn’t know how to handle.”

From the corner of his visual field, Lucas could see Rodney frown. He guessed that these weren’t the first words most people would use to declare their eternal love for someone. The fact that Vic was smiling unashamedly, actually kind of proud at the idea that she had been a whirlwind in his life, told him that she got it though.

“Then we were at our diner and Cam assumed that we were married,” he continued with soft voice, “and for the break of a second I thought that it was awkward and weird to be called your husband. And then I realized it wasn’t. It wasn’t weird. It wasn’t awkward. It was a look into the future.”

Maybe he hadn’t realized it in that very moment that Cam had said it, but he had realized it when he had started to explain to Vic that marriage was a serious thing for him. That it hadn’t worked out the first two times had just meant that he hadn’t found the right person yet. Looking at her, he had started realizing that maybe he had found her now though.

“I am standing here today because I believe in what Cam saw in us. I believe that we are relationship goals because we love each other, we inspire each other and we respect each other. These three – love, inspiration and respect – will always be with us, and they will help us to overcome any difficulty we will have to face. There is just one thing that I ever wanted more than to prove Cam right and show the world that we are relationship goals.”

Although Vic was smiling at him softly, he could see the emotions in her eyes. He wasn’t sure if she was surprised that he had actually remembered the words she had said to him when she had proposed at that coffee processing plant. He was sure that she recognized them though.

“What I want most,” he added softly, his eyes locking with Vic’s even more intently, “is to be the best husband you can possibly have. I want to give you the hearts and rainbows that I know this isn’t about for you, but that should be a part of marriage nonetheless, and I want to give you something real even in toilet paper moments.”

Vic chuckled through the tears that had welled in her eyes and lowered her gaze for a moment. He watched her sucking in a deep breath before she lifted her gaze back to him.

“I love you,” he mouthed.

Vic cocked her head, smiling at him. “I love you, too.”

A long moment of silence spread, and Lucas almost felt like they could just be announced husband and wife already, and it wouldn’t feel like anything was missing. It would feel natural because the way Vic looked at him was really all that Lucas needed to know that she felt the exact same way.

“Vic,” Rodney prompted though, “it’s your turn.”

Vic sucked in another deep breath, looking surprisingly nervous which he wasn’t too used to. Most of the times, Vic was so incredibly confident. She often assumed control when they were together – whether it was by suggesting new hobbies to try or places to go or even the bed (or the turnout room for that matter).

“Lucas,” she said eventually, her voice trembling slightly, “you told me that you were only game for marriage again if you really knew that it was right.”

Lucas nodded his head slightly. He had said that and he had meant it. He wouldn’t be standing here right now if he wasn’t sure that it was right.

“This _is_ right,” she told him firmly, “and I will forever believe that because I know it deep in my bones, and I can feel it in every fiber of my heart and soul. I will believe that this is right when nobody around us will. I will even believe it when you grow doubts, and I will convince you to believe in it again.”

He had always known that he wasn’t the only good listener in this relationship. Until now, he hadn’t quite understood how well Vic really knew him though. They hadn’t talked about his prior marriages a lot of times, actually, they had probably only talked about it that one time, but she still got what fears he connected with another marriage – the fear of failing again.

“As much as we will both try to add some hearts and rainbows to our marriage,” she said, smiling as she was referring to his vow, “I know that we will face struggles. We will fight and we will clash from time to time because we are both stubborn and we often act on instinct which is good, but it might cause trouble. When it does, I promise you that I won’t stop believing in us. I won’t stop believing that this decision right here was right. I will choose that it is right over and over and over again as many times as I have to.”

Lucas felt his heart warming even more. Maybe some people wouldn’t consider it very romantic to talk about the fights during vows, but it was perfect for him. It was perfect for them. They wanted something real and that meant that they couldn’t close their eyes from the reality of fights occurring in even the happiest of marriages. It would help them to overcome them.

“When we fight, we will both have to just pull ourselves together. We can be mad each other. We can yell at each other. We can go days without talking to each other. Neither of us will go, though. We will still sleep in the same bed together. We will still respect each other. We will still believe in this, so we will work it out. I am not giving up on this easily, and I will not give up on you. Ever.”

Lucas felt his heart racing in his chest from this vow. It had been everything he had needed and more. He couldn’t have been more wrong when he had thought that they could have been announced husband and wife right after his vow. He had needed to hear her vows. He had needed to hear them, and he hadn’t even known it until she had said those words.

“As you have said your vows to one another,” Rodney said although Lucas felt he only heard him distantly as he was completely focused on Vic, “you will now exchange the wedding rings as a symbol of your vows. Wherever you are and whatever you are going through, they will always remind you of the promises you have just made to each other.”

Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, he pulled out the small velvet box that held his parents’ wedding rings. Although he had had them since his parents’ death and although he had been married twice already, he had never used them before. He had always shied away from it, telling himself that it was better to start a story for himself than to hang onto the past. Deep down, maybe it had been part of suspecting that those marriages weren’t going to last.

With Vic, it was different. He knew that she was his always, the person he would be with for the rest of his life. There was not even a spark of doubt there and that was why he knew that he should use these rings now.

“Lucas, please repeat after me.”

Lucas took his mother’s ring and put it to the tip of Vic’s ring finger. Locking his eyes with her, he nodded his head then, making Rodney continue.

“I, Lucas Ripley, give you this ring-“

“I, Lucas Ripley, give you this ring-”

“-as a reminder that I will love, inspire and respect you-“

“-as a reminder that I will love, inspire and respect you-“

“-in all times, in all places and in all ways. Forever.”

“-in all times, in all places and in all ways,” Lucas repeated and pushed the ring onto Vic’s finger. “Forever.”

After an intense moment, Vic broke the eye contact to lower her gaze to her finger. She took in the ring or rather her finger with the ring, and Lucas could almost feel the realization that she was actually getting married here starting to click. Instead of panicking, she smiled brightly though. Lifting her gaze, she locked her eyes with his once more and her happiness was almost palpable.

“Victoria,” Rodney said softly, “now it’s your turn.”

Vic took the ring that was left from the velvet box, and Lucas hurried to push the box back into the packet of his suit jacket before he held out his hand for Vic. She wrapped her left hand around his and pushed the ring onto the tip of his ring finger with her right one.

“I, Victoria Hughes, give you this ring-“

“I, Victoria Hughes, give you this ring-”

“-as a reminder that I will always believe in our love-“

“-as a reminder that I will always believe in our love-“

“-in all times, in all places and in all ways. Forever.”

“-in all times, in all places and in all ways. Forever,” she repeated and pushed the ring onto his finger just like he had before.

It had been years since he had worn a ring the last time, but Lucas got the feeling that it had never felt so right. As new and as unfamiliar it should feel, it wasn’t like that. It felt like it had always been there or always belonged there at least.

“Victoria and Lucas,” Rodney said slowly, “you have exchanged your vows and celebrated your union with the giving and receiving of rings. It is at this time that I pronounce you husband and wife. Lucas, you may start the adventure of marriage by kissing your bride.”

“Certainly will.”

Taking a step forward, Lucas wrapped both of his arms around Vic’s waist. When her arms wrapped around his shoulders, he lifted her several inches off the floor. She chuckled at that, and he swallowed those happy sounds by claiming her lips with his in a passionate kiss.

He would get to kiss Vic for the rest of their lives, and he would be sure to make every single one of them count. Especially this one – their first kiss as husband and wife.

* * *

Vic wondered if she should feel different. She had taken a life-altering step by getting married to Lucas. After a change like that, she got the feeling that she should feel different.

Surprisingly, Vic didn’t feel changed at all. She still felt the same she had felt this morning, simply without the nervousness. She felt confident about her decision and beyond happy to just enjoy a quiet moment with Lucas. Her husband.

Just thinking about the fact that he really was her husband now made her smile. She felt fuzzy-headed as it was still so incredibly unreal. She felt like she was a in a dream and she’d wake up any second, still sitting at the side of Lucas’ bed in Grey Sloan Memorial while she was waiting for him to wake up.

The thought made a cool shiver run down the length of her spine. Her body trembled for a moment, and Lucas’ right arm tightened around her in response while he was tugging the blanket even more tightly around her with his left hand.

“Everything alright?” he whispered and placed a gentle kiss against her forehead. “Are you cold?”

“I’m fine,” Vic replied with low voice and snuggled even closer to Lucas, stealing some of the warmth that his body offered, “don’t worry.”

“I think that, as your husband, I am officially allowed to worry about you now.” Lucas brushed his lips against her forehead once more. “It might even be my obligation.”

Vic smiled, angling her head back a little to look at Lucas. “I like you taking care of me. I could get used to it.”

“Get used to it,” Lucas replied without hesitation, “because I won’t stop.”

Vic was still humming in appreciation of those words when Lucas leaned down and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. His left hand found hers on his chest, and he guided their linked fingers to his heart. The beat was strong and even, just as Vic liked it to be.

A low sigh fell from Vic’s lips when their lips parted. She smiled at Lucas for a moment before she rested her head back against his shoulder and leaned her forehead against the side of his neck. Her eyes were about to close, the exhaustion of the day finally starting to take over, when her gaze fell on their linked fingers on Lucas’ chest.

Even in the half-dark, the rings caught attention. A little light from the candles was shining down on them, making them look even more beautiful. With the way their fingers were entwined and both their rings so close together, Vic felt like she had never seen something more beautiful. She could look at their hands like that forever.

Just like she could lie here like this forever. If time froze now, she’d forever be blissfully happy, and she wouldn’t miss or regret anything because right now and right here she got the feeling that nothing could make her happier.

Once they had come back home, she and Lucas had both exchanged their sweaty, dirty wedding clothes against something more comfortable. Lucas had put on some sweatpants, passing on the shirt as he had seen her ogling him, while Vic had stolen the grey sweater that he had worn during that peer meeting where everything had really started. They had snuggled up on the couch, Vic lying half on top of Lucas with one of her legs pushed between both of his. Their feet were moving together just like they had after their first night together.

“You know what would make this moment even more perfect?”

“I couldn’t think of anything.” He angled his head down and pressed his nose against the top of her head. “Everything I want and need is right here.”

“It’s the same for me of course,” Vic replied, “but a fireplace would be nice nonetheless, don’t you think? Just think about the fire spitting in the fireplace, the light and warmth shining down on both us. It would be romantic, wouldn’t it be?”

Lucas pulled back slightly, making Vic rest her head back a little to look at his face. His reaction already made her chuckle. She knew that there had been a lot of things that he had expected. This certainly hadn’t been any of that.

“Are you agreeing to a vacation in a little ski chalet?”

“Maybe.” Vic smiled. “I mean we haven’t really talked about our honeymoon yet, and I think that, now that we are married and soon out to everyone about it, it’s time for us to get away somewhere. Whether we call it a honeymoon or a vacation, I don’t care. I just think that getting away somewhere was what prompted everything that led to us getting married in the first place. We owe it to ourselves to take that step now.”

Lucas smiled and nuzzled her nose, making Vic smile even more.

“I am all in for a honeymoon,” Lucas said, “but I think we should go to Hawaii.”

Vic perked up her eyebrows. “Really?”

“Totally You know, I was told there are things called beaches and swimwear.” Lucas kissed the tip of her nose playfully, suppressing a chuckle. “As for the fireplace, I think we should just find a new home for us with a fireplace, so we can enjoy it every day in winter.”

Surprised, Vic propped her head up on her hand. As the pressure on her wrist made a jolt of pain shoot through it, she scrunched up her nose and quickly lowered her forearm again. She stayed propped up on her elbow instead. That way, she could still watch Lucas closely.

“You want to move?”

Lucas chuckled, tugging at a curl of her hair. “I wasn’t planning on living separate from my wife.”

Vic rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t planning on letting you sleep anywhere where I am not either, but, I don’t know, I guess I haven’t really thought about what that means for where we live.”

“We can just stay at one of our places too,” Lucas said, “but I just figured that it would be nice to find something together, don’t you think? A home that we make ours. Together.”

_Ours. Together_. The words echoed in Vic’s ears, filling her with even more warmth. It felt like a blanket that she could just tug around herself and that wouldn’t allow her to ever feel cold again.

Vic rested her head back against Lucas’ shoulder once more, feeling her head growing heavy. Before she had lain down here, she had shot a look at herself in the mirror. There was a nice bump building on the side of her forehead, and a hematoma was building on the left side of her face as the blood was pooling there it seemed.

She guessed she could really use a couple of days off.

“So finding a place together and going on a honeymoon is on our to-do list,” she said eventually. “What else is there?”

“I think the most urgent one is very clear.”

Vic nodded to herself slowly. “We will have to tell everyone.”

Lucas hummed in agreement, tightening his arm around her almost like he wanted to protect her from the troubling time they would have to go through. Even though they were married now, the head of Human Resources would certainly have some questions about how they had started and everything.

In addition to that, there were enough other people in the department that would have their opinions. Even though that shouldn’t matter to them, that was certainly easier said than done.

“I thought that, once you have recovered and go back to work,” Lucas said slowly, “we could start by telling your team. I am sure you want them to find out from you and not from grapevine.”

“True.” Vic nodded. “I actually think I should tell Travis first. He knows about us, and he is my best friend. He will forever be pissed if he finds out with everyone else.”

“I will tell Jennifer and Sully then,” Lucas replied, “and then we can tell the rest of your team.”

“And HR.”

“And everyone else if that piece of news doesn’t spread like wildfire even without us trying.”

Vic chuckled. “I guess it won’t take too long.”

“Certainly not.” Lucas chuckled, pushing some strands of hair out of Vic’s face. “It’s what we wanted though, right? We wanted everyone to know.”

There was almost a hint of uncertainty in his voice, barely detectable for anyone she guessed. By now, Vic knew him well enough to not miss it though. Squeezing his fingers, she angled her head back to smile at him.

“I am planning on letting everyone I meet in the future, whether I know them or not and whether they want to or not, know that I am madly in love with you.”

“I am madly in love with you too,” Lucas replied, “and I can’t wait for the world to know that.”

Vic smiled at him for a moment before Lucas dipped his head forward and brushed his lips against hers. Straightening up a little, she deepened the kiss. She just couldn’t get enough of Lucas’ kisses, especially since they tasted to damn special today. They tasted like the promise of a wonderful life together.

When their lips parted, Vic tightened her hold on Lucas’ fingers. She rested her chin on his shoulder and looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

“You know what we have to do before we tell anyone?”

Lucas perked up his eyebrows. “Tell me.”

“We gotta consummate our marriage.”

Humming, Lucas pushed his fingers under the hem of his pullover she was wearing. He spread his fingers against her lower back. Vic felt herself melting against his touch.

“We definitely will,” he whispered, “but not today.”

“Definitely not today,” Vic agreed, “because I gotta be in better form than that.”

“Same,” Lucas replied, “and this is really nice too.”

“Absolutely.” Vic sighed and let her eyes flutter shut. “I could stay like this forever. I don’t even see any reason to move at all.”

“I can absolutely feel you.” Lucas yawned and let himself sink deeper into the cushions of the couch. “Let’s just catch some rest, so we can use our day off tomorrow.”

Vic hummed in agreement although she wasn’t sure if she really did so or just thought that she did so as she was already on the verge of falling asleep. The exhaustion of the day suddenly washed over her. Her joints ached. Her muscles screamed from tiredness. Her head was starting to feel light, almost like she was floating on clouds.

Tomorrow she would be the first day that she woke up as a married woman, wrapped up in the arms of the man she loved. That was the last thing she thought before falling asleep, making sure that she’d have sweet dreams.

**Author's Note:**

> So this was the original story I wanted to write, but then I figured that there was a prequel needed for me to fill some blanks about how Lucas survived and eveything, so I wrote "How long will I love you?" before this one. 
> 
> Obviously, as I enjoy writing Vicley very much, there will be more to come.  
> I am considering writing something smutty (they do have to consummate their marriage after all), but I am not sure how that will be received. So, if you take the time to comment - thanks in advance for that! - please let me know if you'd be interested in something smutty too. :)


End file.
